Fabrication of flexible collapsible containers



Dec. 11, 1962 H. WARBURTON-HALL 3, 68, 3

FABRICATION OF FLEXIBLE COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINERS Filed March 12, 1959 n mgi! Dag INVENTOR Hamzm WAQBUETOM- HALL.

BY MJM ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,068,132 Patented Dec. 11,1962 3,068,132 FABRICATION OF FLEXIBLE COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINERS HenryWarburton-Hall, Woking, England, assignor, by mesne assignments, toDracone Developments Limited, London, England, a corporation of GreatBritain Filed Mar. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 799,033 Claims priority,application Great Britain Mar. 14, 1958 Claims. (Cl. 156-93) Thisinvention relates to the fabrication of collapsible containers offlexible material and is applicable to the fabrication of petrol andother fuel tanks and to the fabrication of vessels for thetransportation or storage of oil in bulk.

According to the invention, a collapsible, flexible container is madefrom a fabric composed of woven or unwoven, natural or synthetic fiberscoated on opposite sides with a layer of proofing material which doesnot adhere to the fabric along one or more marginal portions thereofsuch that the proofing can be initially folded back to expose thefabric, said fabric being joined at the uncoated margin or margins andthe proofing then sealed over the joint. Conveniently, the joint in thefabric may be a lap joint and the proofing material may be cut back inthe region of the lap joint so that opposed edges of the proofingmaterial do not overlap, said proofing material being adhesively securedto the fabric and strips of proofing material preferably beingadhesively secured over the opposed edges of the proofing material toform a sealed joint. The lap joint of the fabric may be sewn and/oradhesively secured.

The invention also extends to a method of proofing and joining fabricand to proofed fabric material prepared for joining.

An example of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawing which is a sectional elevation of a flexiblecontainer in the region of a joint in its proofed fabric.

The fabric 1 is a heavy nylon fabric with a tensile strength both in thedirection of the weft and in the direction of the warp of not less than1,000 lbs. per inch width as measured by the British Standard One MinuteTensile Test (Handbook No. 11 of the British Standards Institution). Thefabric 1 is coated on one side with a neoprene polymer proofing 2 and onthe other side with an acrylonitrile polymer proofing 3. These proofingsare applied in such a way that they do not adhere to the reinforcingfabric along marginal areas 4 of approximately six inches in width alongeach edge of the fabric. This can be achieved by inserting an inert filmon both sides of the reinforcing fabric 1 or by omitting the anchorcoat. The free flaps 5 of proofing material can thus be folded back toexpose the fabric portions 4.

The joint is prepared by sticking the unproofed portions 4 of nylonreinforcement together with a suitable nylon adhesive 6 which is inertto organic solvents and to water, and subsequently sewing the lap jointsthus formed as shown at 7. The flaps 5 of proofing are then cut backthree inches to the length as illustrated and are stuck down onto thefabric joint by a suitable mbberlike adhesive 8. Unreinforced coverstrips 9 and 11 of the respective proofing materials 2 and 3 are thenadhesively secured over the butt joints of the proofings on each side ofthe fabric.

The invention also includes the prepared fabric material consisting ofthe reinforcing fabric 1 with a coating 2 and 3 of proofing material onone or both sides, such coating being free of the reinforcing fabric 1along one or more marginal portions 4 thereof.

I claim:

1. A flexible container made of strips of flexible material jointedtogether, the flexible material consisting of fabric, a layer ofprotective material attached to each side of said fabric, saidprotective material being unattached to said fabric on each side alongmarginal portions thereof whereby said protective material can beinitially folded back to expose the marginal portions of each side ofsaid fabric, a joint in the fabric at said marginal portions and a sealover said joint, said seal comprising said initially folded backprotective material re-applied to lie over said fabric joint, saidfabric joint being a lap joint and said initially folded back protectivematerial being cut back so as not to overlap, and said seal includingcover strips of protective material secured over said re-appliedprotective material on each side of the fabric.

2. A container according to claim 1, in which the protective material onone side of the fabric is a neoprene polymer and the protective materialon the other side is an acrylonitrile polymer.

3. The method of protecting and joining fabric for a flexiblecollapsible container made from strips of flexible material jointedtogether, the flexible material consisting of fabric comprising thesteps of attaching a layer of protective material to each side of thefabric with the protective material being unattached to the fabric oneach side along marginal portions thereof, folding back said unattachedprotective material to expose the marginal portions of each side of saidfabric, joining the fabric at said marginal portions, re-applying theunattached protective material to lie over the joint and then sealingthe protective material over the joint, the fabric being lap joined andthe protective material being cut back so as not to overlap, andapplying a protective cover strip over the facing edges of theprotective material on each side to form a sealed joint.

4. The method of claim 3, in which the protective material is preventedfrom adhering to the marginal portions by omitting an anchor coat.

5. The method of claim 3, in which the protective material is preventedfrom adhering to the marginal portions by inserting an inert filmbetween the marginal portions and the protective material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,203,616 Hawkins Nov. 7, 1916 2,372,632 Webb Mar. 27, 1945 2,406,830Haman Sept. 3, 946 2,726,222 Palmquist Dec. 6, 1955 2,80 ,452 Adams Aug.6, 1957 2,8 3,054 Nicholas Nov. 12, 1957 2,932,340 Poeschl Apr. 12, 1960

3. THE METHOD OF PROTECTING AND ADJOINING FABRIC FOR A FLEXIBLECOLLASPSIBLE CONTAINER MADE FROM STRIPS OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL JOINTEDTOGETHER, THE FLEXIBLE MATERIAL CONSISTING OF FBRIC COMPRISING THE STEPSOF ATTACHING A LAYER OF PROTECTIVE MATERIAL TO EACH SIDE OF THE FABRICWITH THE PROTECTIVE MATERIAL BEING UNATTACHED TO THE FABRIC ON EACH SIDEALONG MARGINAL PORTIONS THEREOF, FOLDING BACK SAID UNATTACHED PROTECTIVEMATERIAL TO EXPOSE THE MARGINAL PORTIONS OF EACH SIDE OF SAID FABRIC,JOINING THE FABRIC AT SAID MARGINAL PORTIONS, RE-APPLYING THE UNATTACHEDPROTECTIVE MATERIAL TO LIE OVER THE JOINT AND THEN SEALING THEPROTECTIVE MATERIAL OVER THE JOINT, THE FABRIC BEING LAP JOINED AND THEPRROTECTIVE MATERIAL BEING CUT BACK SO AS NOT TO OVERLAP, AND APPLYING APROTECTIVE COVER STRIP OVER THE FACING EDGES OF THE PROTECTIVE MATERIALON EACH SIDE TO FORM A SEALD JOINT.